Syndicate Small Arms and Equipment
=Infantry Weapons= Pistols and Other Sidearms Heckle MAP-11 "Manstopper" Stamped out in vast numbers by Italian-German arms manufacturer Heckle & Co GmbH, the "Manstopper" is often advertised as the cheapest and fastest firing machine pistol in the world. It puts 9mm bullets downstream at a blistering 1,200 rpm, and indeed costs so little that even the poorest Sprawl dwellers can usually afford to buy one, if they save up. However, many attributes were sacrificed to achieve this performance and cost. The first thing to note is the complete lack of anything resembling accuracy; the light weight of the weapon, along with the absurd recoil, makes it impossible to hold the weapon steady on a target for more than a single second, and it is impossible to change the fire setting without physically modifying the weapon (and nullifying the two week warranty). Obviously, the ammunition use is also prodigious, with the pistol burning through its entire 32 round magazine in less than two seconds of firing. Beyond that, the "Manstopper" is also extremely temperamental; being built from the cheapest, lowest quality materials available, the weapon malfunctions almost every time it fired. No one knows how many Sprawl dwellers have been injured when their "Manstopper" misfired or exploded in their hands, but the number is doubtless very high. Between the unreliability and inaccuracy of the weapon, and other issues such as poor ergonomics and the tendency for the barrel to wear out very rapidly, nearly all professional soldiers and mercenaries are quick to shun the weapon. Despite this, however, the "Manstopper" is very common amongst civilians in the Sprawls, and is a staple of gang warfare. Sprawl dwellers tend to be very familiar with the weapon, which along with the low cost is the reason why "Manstoppers" are standard issue for Legion Security auxiliary troops. "Fasces" Stun Baton Legionnaires are more than mercenary soldiers; they just as often serve as mercenary police, which presents problems with equipment. It has been known for centuries that rifles make poor police weapons. They require two hands to hold and operate, meaning one must always have a partner, or be willing to discard the rifle while apprehending a criminal. Indeed, this problem has meant that for most of recorded history of modern law enforcement, the preferable weapon is the truncheon. It can be used with one hand while the other can restrain a criminal, and is still favoured across the world, even in areas where police are armed. A simple metal stick would not suffice for the Sprawl, however. Instead, the truncheon is lined with several metal needles, as well as electrical equipment inside that discharges high-voltage, low-current electricity between these needles that is activated with a button on the handle. When the needles penetrate the flesh of an unfortunate Sprawler, the discharge overrides the muscle-triggering instinct, causing intense pain and a loss of control of the body, which no amount of fortitude can withstand. The stun baton can be discharged without contact, in which case the electricity will arc across all the needles, causing a distinct blue glow. This is often followed by holding the Fasces in a threatening manner when the Legionnaire is being annoyed. The Fasces can also be used as a normal baton when an electroshock would kill a person or when knocking a piece of trash off a garbage can and demanding a bystander pick it up. The baton itself looks fairly normal, but is carried in a dagger-like sheath on a Legionnaire’s belt, making many people make their last mistake in engaging a Legionnaire in hand to hand combat. Beretta M61R Burst Pistol A thoroughly unsubtle weapon, the M61 is a 10.9mm pistol, fed from a 16-round box magazine. A folding steel butt-stock can be attached at the heel of the grip, to help control the weapon's numbing recoil. It's favoured as a sidearm by many Legionnaires for its ability to cause particularly messy one-shot kills and punch through even heavy body armour, as well as the sheer intimidation factor of its deafening report and blazing muzzle flash. When the minds behind the Praetorian Battlesuit project decided to equip their creations with "light, concealable equipment", the M61 was the obvious choice. Tests quickly showed, however, that, even when dual-wielding, a Praetorian suit was capable of withstanding more recoil than even the brutal M61 provided. Reasoning that you could never have too much of a good thing, the Syndicate's executives commissioned Beretta for an M61 variant with a higher rate of fire- the result of which was the M61R, which can be selected to fire in either single shot, or three-round bursts (the "R" stands for Raffica, which means "burst fire" in Italian). The M61R can be wielded by unmodified humans, but Beretta strongly recommends that the burst fire option only be used by cybernetically enhanced troops. Rifles and Carbines AUGUSTA/Cititec CAR-67 Ardito A futuristic, sleek looking design, the CAR-67 Ardito may at first glance appear almost toy-like, with its synthetic plastic construction and feather-like weight, but it is actually a carbine capable of automatic fire. Marketed as a "budget" weapon, the CAR-67 is common amongst the Sprawl gangs. The factory model CAR-67 fires .223 ammunition in single shots or three round bursts; surprisingly enough the weapon is actually quite accurate. The weapon can accept 30 round magazines, and simple digital optics are incorporated into the carrying handle. The same can't really be said for the weapons being used in Sprawl gangfights, which are typically modified from the stock variant into crude firearms that barely resemble the sleek weapon shown on ads. The most common modification is to convert the weapon to full auto, which quickly exposes the weapon' issues. While the rifle remains accurate in burst settings, on full automatic the light weight of the weapon means that even the low recoil of the .223 round quickly becomes impossible to handle, turning an accurate assault rifle into an uncontrollable bullet hose. The cheap barrel materials also wear out very quickly under sustained firing, and will overheat in seconds; barrels have literally melted in the middle of pitched firefights. Similar issues exist with the firing mechanism. It doesn't help that the weapon actually requires quite a lot of maintenance to function properly, which Sprawl gangs tend to skimp out on. Without it, the CAR-67 quickly becomes highly unreliable and prone to jamming. Between all of this, the CAR-67s in gang use invariably break, at which point the gang members go out to buy a new one. AUGUSTA/Cititec CAR-68 Saetta The Ardito's somewhat more expensive counterpart, the CAR-68 Saetta carbine is advertised as the step up from CAR-67 while still being more affordable than Gyrojet and Railgun based weapon systems. Even though it's appearance is identical to the cheaply made Ardito, the Saetta is made from higher quality material and can be switched between burst fire and full auto and being able to handle it straight out the box with a slightly above average degree of accuracy and reliability, the trade-off being it's a little light on stopping power due to the small size of its .223 ammunition. Despite costing nearly 50% more than the Ardito, the Saetta in the long run still more affordable than Gyrojet and Railgun based weapon systems, which in turn makes it popular with private corporate enforcers and some of the more financially and criminally successful Sprawl gangs. Beretta MB-3 Gyrojet Bullpup The technologically revolutionary MB-3 is a crowning achievement in firearms, being the first to feature micro-soft compatibility and the first "perfected" gyrojet firearm. It is famous for its reliability, and serves as an excellent marksmanship weapon for the casual shooter, with a four shot magazine and bolt action mechanism. Beretta MB-4 Gyrojet Bullpup The MB-4 is the latest in the MB line of semi-automatic anti-personnel rifles. It sports higher levels of micro-soft compatibility than the MB-3, and is capable of firing both the Teflon and Non-Teflon 7.62 Gyrojet rounds; it offers good infantry stopping power at long ranges for a reasonable price. The ergonomic grip design and non-obtrusive 10 shot Bullpup magazine allow for maximum level of user friendliness. Effective range is measured at over 1000m and maximum projectile velocity measured at over 1100 m/s. SLG-7 GSTLKR Railgun Rifle Railguns are a highly guarded secret within the Syndicate, with a single company--Blue Mountains Technology Group--and its subsidiaries holding a complete monopoly on the technology. Unsurprisingly, more than a few resent this monopoly, and quite a few have tried to change the status quo. One such example was a Yoshiwara based company, which, after getting ahold of the secrets of railgun technology through industrial espionage, attempted to create a working railgun of their own. Their result, after a month of development, was a carbine sized railgun geared towards anti-infantry work, capable of spitting out a hypervelocity stream of powerful 2mm rounds with excellent accuracy and penetration. The weapon proved quite formidable in testing, with the rounds were shown to be able to pass through multiple targets without any significant loss in velocity. Unfortunately, before it could get anywhere near the mass production stage, Blue Mountains Technology Group took notice of the fact that the other company had somehow gotten its hands on railgun technology, and did not take kindly to this turn of events. Using their not insignificant resources, Blue Mountains hired out a number of mercenaries, including the infamous Minerva, to "pay a visit" to the company's premises. As the mercenaries stormed and ransacked the premises, Minerva took the liberty of 'acquiring' the railgun prototype for herself. Blue Mountains allowed her to keep the prototype, in part because they had no claim to the weapon, never having owned in the first place, and in part because those in the upper echelons of Blue Mountains had no wish to make enemies with her. Since then, Minerva has been known to have employed the railgun rifle on several occasions. For reasons known only to herself, however, she prefers to use gyrojet rifles most of the time, only bringing it out during heavy combat or high risk contracts. When she does, though, Minerva can tear through columns of foes with shocking ease. Mako Ballistics MA-17 Marling A sniper rifle produced by Mako Ballistics, the Marling is best known for the novel features it incorporates into its design. For one, it is a bullpup design, an arrangement that reduces weight and length. Chambered in .308 calibre, much of the rifle is made of synthetic plastic, which makes it extremely light despite its size. By and by far, the most unique feature of the MA-17 is its burst fire setting. The way this setting works is simple; when a person presses the trigger, the fires off a burst of three rounds. While normally the resultant recoil would cause the second and third rounds to miss the target, the Marling attempts to circumvent this by firing off all three rounds extremely quickly, before recoil has a chance to set in, which would supposedly preserve accuracy and range. The weapon never sold very well. Though, in theory, the rifle could fire off the full three shot burst before recoil could affect the rifle, in practice users found that the second and third rounds would sometimes stray off target nonetheless. In addition, the weapon's light weight worsened the Marling's already significant recoil, something which users complained about. In single shot mode, the Marling proved no more effective than any other sniper rifle, yet far more expensive; worse, people didn't see what advantages a burst fire sniper rifle had over a regular one. When it was finally realised that no one was interested, Mako was quick to cut production of the Marling and stem their losses. However, the Marling does have an almost cult-like following among a small group of users, including some members of Legion Security and a small handful of Allied snipers. Mako Ballistics MA-18 Barracuda Despite the costly failure of the Marling, this did not stop Mako Ballistics from pushing ahead with another project to develop another sniper rifle. Like the Marling, the MA-18 Barracuda uses a bullpup layout, but this is where the similarities end. Where the Marling's weight makes it feel almost toylike, the Barracuda is a rather heavy weapon. It fires shots one at a time, with a significant cooling period between each shot. The most distinguishing part of the entire weapon is the fact that it does not employ any sort of chemical propellant; rather, it uses electromagnetic force to hurl a 3mm projectile out of its barrel at high velocity. The resultant weapon is extremely powerful; it retains its accuracy over vast distances, and the velocity of the launched projectile is sufficiently great that it will penetrate any body armour with ease, to say nothing of exposed flesh. Even the plating of light vehicles can be shattered, though the Barracuda is not capable of penetrating tank armour, as it does not have the velocity or tungsten armour penetrators of dedicated anti-tank railguns. While the MA-18 Barracuda has its drawbacks, such as its great weight and exceedingly high cost, it is nevertheless quite popular amongst those who can afford it, from Legion Security Centurions to wealthy buyers seeking a more powerful weapon to hunt with. Scorpio Arms Plumbata AMR The latest in sniper rifle technology, the Plumbata fires powerful 12.7mm rounds, which can penetrate the thickest of body armour or even the plating of light vehicles, and has an impressive range of over 2,000 metres. It boasts superior accuracy, and comes standard with a 12x magnification high power telescopic sight. The rifle's body is made out of brushed aluminium, and is extremely light for its size. An integrated bipod provides for stable firing, and barrels are precision machined to the highest standard. The Plumbata's semi automatic action can reload shots far quicker than any bolt action rifle, although it only holds 3 shots. The only complaint of users is the massive recoil the rifle produces, although most consider a little arm jarring to be more than worth it, considering that they have a rifle capable of punching holes in anything short of a tank. The rifles can be custom made to the user's specifications, if so desired. However, the Plumbata's power comes at a premium, and doesn't come cheap. However, most people are more than pleased with the results. Anti-Aircraft Weapons Kydonia Industries SNSC-3 "Bishop" Anti-Air Mortar Utilizing recent advances in small scale artificial intelligence, the "Bishop" launches a guided smart missile when fired which tracks what it deems to be the highest priority target based on data gathered by the S.P.I.D.E.R. network. Upon nearing impact to the target, the smart missile detonates into a shower of sharp mono-wire shrapnel, crippling the internal workings of the target aircraft. Boasting far superior range compared to competing weapons and superior accuracy, this system is in high demand among Sprawl dwellers, although it is difficult to acquire one, thanks to the internal A.I system the Bishop possesses. Due to the processing demands of tracking target aircraft, the artificial intelligence is unable to track surface targets. Grenades Heckle & Co GmbH SG-28 "Pilum" Javelin Grenade Out of all the standard issue weapons of a Legionnaire, the SG-28 "Pilum" is probably the most anachronistic. A shaped charged concussion grenade attached to a telescoping pole, the "Pilum" resembles a javelin when fully extended. Originally designed in the 1940s, the design was quickly obsoleted as it proved to be ineffective against heavy armour plating. Only recently has the design gained a new lease on life, as a disposable anti infantry and anti light vehicle weapon for Legionnaires. Like a javelin, the SG-28 is designed to be thrown at an enemy, striking point first and exploding upon impact. The explosion is directed straight forward into the unfortunate target, so unlike a regular fragmentation grenade the SG-28 isn't all that effective against massed targets. The advantages of the grenade are its accuracy, long range, and tendency to sprawl the Legionnaire's foe backwards, even if it does not kill them. This makes it a very useful weapon for the gyrojet equipped Legionnaires, who are trained to throw these weapons at foes in order to keep them within the effective range of their weapons. =Infantry Equipment= Others Combat Stimulants Combat stimulants ("combat stims" for short) are drugs designed for the express purpose of temporarily boosting the fighting capabilities of their users. Combat stims are used extensively by mercenary forces and gang members around the world, though few actual militaries are known to make use of such chemicals. These potent cocktails consist of a mixture of painkillers, adrenaline, endorphins and other chemicals, and come in pre-packed hypodermic syringes that allow them to be injected into the bloodstream in a matter of seconds. Effects usually take hold within a few minutes. When under the influence of combat stims, users have greatly increased speed and reflexes, heightened strength and aggressive impulses, and the ability to ignore pain from wounds that should kill them. Needless to say, these chemicals have turned the tide of more than one battle. However, while combat stims have proven to be life-savers on many occasions, there are a variety of detrimental effects associated with their usage. According to official manufacturers, the side effects of combat stims are for the most part short term and temporary, though the veracity of such claims are debatable. Stims come in varying potencies, from drugs that slightly enhance combat reflexes to chemical conoctions that can keep the most sleep deprived soldiers awake for days. Rumours of combat stims that can boost their user's strength and endurance to superhuman levels, but kill their user after the effects wear off, are common in the Sprawls. Category:Technology Category:Guns